


i knew you when/i'll know you then

by GremlinGirl



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Communication, F/F, F/M, Fingering, Flowery Descriptions, He Wants His Mom To Be Happy Okay???, Healthy Relationships, Hint of a Foreboding Ending, Matchmaker!Ben Solo, Matchmaking, Oral Sex, Organa-Solo Family, Political Gala, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Pre-TFA, Rare Pair Exchange Gift, Sex, f/f sex, very slight dirty talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-12 22:34:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21483931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GremlinGirl/pseuds/GremlinGirl
Summary: Leia hosts a political gala in the New Republic and is surprised when her old friend attends. It's been so long, and of course, sparks fly between them. Fortunately, their feelings can no longer be ignored when Ben decides to meddle and play a game of matchmaker. He just needs to get his father on board as well.
Relationships: Amilyn Holdo/Leia Organa, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26
Collections: Star Wars Rare Pairs Exchange 2019





	i knew you when/i'll know you then

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valda/gifts).

“Ow. Ow! Oww!” 

“Oh, calm down, Ben.” Leia took the comb away from Ben’s hair, looking at his scrunched up face in the mirror. Dramatic through and through, just like his father. His face turned down into a pout. “You look like an injured baby bird,” she told him. “Do you not comb out your hair everyday like you’re supposed to?” 

“Yes, but you’re not very gentle,” Ben said, then he slumped down in the vanity seat, pouting like a teenager. It made it impossible for her to continue combing through the thick mane of his hair. 

“Yours isn’t even half as long as mine is, and you don’t see me complaining.” 

Ben’s lips twitched a little, and he craned his head backwards so he could actually look at her. “I’m not made of the strong stuff you are,” he said, and she gently laid a hand on top of his head, turning it back forward. “Besides, it’s all just going to be braided back anyway. Why does it have to be combed first?” 

“Tsk. You’re going to a Senate Gala and all you can worry about is the couple minutes of pain to get your hair ready?” 

“Let the boy go, Leia.” A familiar voice interrupted her, and Leia glanced over to see her husband walking in. He was making the same face as Ben, messing with the tight collar of his new outfit. She’d bought it, knowing for a fact he didn’t have anything in his closet to wear to the gala. “I think this thing is a size too small,” he said, a familiar complaint in his voice. Han had never liked these events, or anything even associated with them. 

“No, it’s not,” Leia told him, matter-of-factly. “And you.” She turned her keen eye on Ben, who quickly sat up with a small swallow. “You begged to leave Luke’s temple to come to this gala, and now that you’re here, you're not going to complain the whole time. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, then smiled a little bit. “I was just messing with you anyway.” 

“I’m sure,” she said, then brought the comb through his hair a few more times. Leia had already done her own hair, so she focused on getting Ben’s tamed down. She could remember the first time she’d taken in him to get it snipped short, and he’d thrown such a fit. His tenuous grip on the Force had shattered a few mirrors that day. From then on, his hair had been whatever length he’d wanted it, and she’d taught him to manage it. Keep it silky and smooth. Her fingers slowly worked through his hair, keeping the top a bit loose but braiding it down into a bun at his nape. In the mirror, she caught a flash of Han sneaking out of the bedroom. “No,” she said, turning around and pointing her comb at him. “Do not go and eat anything once you’ve already changed. If you stain that, I don’t have anything else for you to wear.” 

Han stopped, just leaning on the door, and he shot her that rogue-ish grin that had always made her knees weak. “Fine,” he said, relenting to her, and he held his arms up. “You win. I’ll just sit here and starve to death.” 

“If our lives were as dramatic as you always make them out to be, I have no doubt we’d be dead by now,” she said, turning back to Ben to finish his hair. When she glanced in the mirror again, Han was gone, and she could only sigh softly. 

“I think it’s a bit silly to say that. Considering how many times you did almost die,” Ben said, his attention now taken up by a holo-screen in front of him, watching some sort of race it appeared. Leia sighed, then put a simple pin in the back of his head with a golden flower on it, and she patted his shoulders. 

“Okay, go get changed. I need to change as well. Remember, we can’t be a minute late to the gala.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, then stood up quickly. He slid the holo projector into his pocket, then leaned down and gave Leia a kiss on the cheek before hurrying out of the room. Leia went into their large closet and pulled out a dress for herself to wear. She was halfway into it when Han walked back in, rapping his knuckles on the door. 

“Leia, you’re not going to believe who’s here!” 

“Just a minute,” she said, exasperated. Who could be visiting, and today of all days? Probably the worst timing in the Galaxy. She slid her arms into the sleeves and reached around to zip up the back. Once the navy dress was on, the sheer sleeves rounded out and hung down to nearly brush the floor, Leia exited the closet and looked to the doorway. Leia was a woman rarely stunned into silence, but she found herself quieted by the woman before her. “Amilyn,” she greeted, and her old friend smiled at her, wide and happy. Han rolled his eyes as they crossed the room toward each other, getting out of the way so they could embrace. Amilyn bent a little, her tall, lithe body several inches taller than Leia’s own, but when they parted, Leia linked their hands. “What are you doing here?” she asked, expression happier than it had been all night. 

“I came to see you, my dear friend. I find I’ve missed you more than words can say.“ Amilyn smiled at her, the same burning spirit in her eyes that Leia had always been familiar with. “With the gala, I thought what better time to visit you. We can attend together me, you, your family.” 

“I’d love that,” Leia said, and she happily squeezed Amilyn’s hands. 

Han moved over against the wall, looking between them for a moment, then he let out a loud sigh which made Leia glance over at him. “So, she can be your date tonight, and I can stay home. Right?”

Leia quickly dropped Amilyn’s hands, then she shook her head. “You’re wise-cracking isn’t getting you out of this, Solo. Now march.” She pointed to the door, watching as Han made his way out of the room. Smiling, Leia glanced up at her again. “You can stay awhile after the gala, yes? So we can catch up?” 

“Absolutely,” she said, then slid her arm around Leia’s shoulders. Her fingers ghosted in a line down her back, and Leia worked to keep her head high as she started walking to the door. “We do have a lot to say to each other, I’m guessing. It’s been so long.” 

Leia looked up at her long-time friend. “Too long,” she whispered. Then, gathering herself, she headed out to round up her family and get them to the gala. 

* * *

  
  


A range of species attended the gala. From every corner of the Galaxy. Luke’s school didn’t boast this much multiculturalism, and Ben found himself mostly enjoying himself as he slipped through the crowd and shook hands with politicians. 

Dad had snuck off somewhere to be away from the glossy fakeness of upper-echelon Republicans, and Mom was schmoozing with the best of them, her smile plastered on. More genuine looking than any other, but Ben was perceptive enough to see right through it. Dad may hate these sorts of events, but Mom didn’t much care for them either. They were just part of the work she did. 

Looking across the room, he spotted Ms. Holdo by a waiter, picking up a few hor ‘dourves, then she walked slowly back to his mother’s side and handed one to her. He noticed the way they both seemed to light up when their fingers brushed each other, and Ben hummed to himself. Quietly, he slipped away from the conversation he’d been roped into, and he found his way back into the hallway where his dad had hidden himself. He grabbed the man by the arm, making him jump, his fingers twitching toward the non-existent weapon he usually kept on his hip. “Calm down, it’s me,” Ben said, then he tugged on him. 

“What? I don’t wanna go back out there,” Han said, digging his heels in when Ben tried to pull on him. “Tell your mother to calm down. I just need some air.” 

“Mom didn’t send me,” Ben said, and he gave another tug that finally got his dad moving. “I want to ask you something. He stopped just at the edge of the hallway, peering back into the main chamber where the gala was being held. With silvery lights shining down on the assembled, there seemed to be a romantic air of mysticism about it all. “How long as Mom known Ms. Holdo?” he asked, finding them amongst the crowd again. 

“Uh...I don’t know. Lots of years. Why?” Han sounded as exasperated as his expression betrayed. 

Ben was laser focused on the two women, though, watching as they moved as a single unit away from the group they were talking with in order to join another. It was perfect party etiquette, and they had it down to a science. The facade of laughing at jokes told in languages that neither of them had a full grasp on, keeping heavy topics light as they weaved them into conversations. It wasn’t a science, Ben realized, but an art. 

“Don’t they just look...happier when they’re together?” he asked. 

“Well, they’re friends. Ben, what are you getting out here? I don’t want to be at this hoity-toity party anyway. Let me go hide again.” Ben grabbed his dad before he could flee the scene again. “What?” he asked, exasperated. 

“They should be together,” Ben said, revelation in his tone. It was as if the Force itself had gifted him the realization, and he turned to his dad to smile. But he was met with a slightly downturned expression and a roll of his eyes. “What? It’s true!” 

“Ben!” He dropped his head, then rubbed furiously at his eyes. “Your mother and I are married. You know that. What do you mean Holdo and her should be together?” 

Ben just crossed his arms. “You’re not going to get jealous, are you? I know that...you’re with Mom. Obviously. But she can love more than one person. I mean, look at her. Look at how they see each other. Can’t you just...feel something, when you watch them?” Ben looked back toward the two women. He caught them gently touching hands, eyes meeting, and maybe Ms Holdo’s hand lingered just long enough to be more than a brush. This was all the proof Ben needed. 

“I think you’ve been with Luke and the kooky Jedi for too long,” Han said, then just shook his head. 

“Are you gonna help me or not?” Ben asked. He shot his dad a very exasperated look. 

Han shook his head. “You’re crazy, kid.” 

“Don’t call me kid. I’m nearly twenty.” He twisted forward again, then marched off without his dad’s assistance, but a hand grabbed him and reeled him back over. “What?” he asked, throwing his head back with al exaggerated groan. 

“I’ll distract your mother so you can do whatever it is you need to do. But I still don’t think anything’s gonna come from this.”

Ben glanced at his dad curiously, head tilted. “Wanna bet?” 

He saw a glimmer in Han’s eye, something thrilling about a gamble, even in this situation. “Fifty credits that Amilyn Holdo laughs in your face.”

“Sixty that her and mom are making out by the end of the gala.”

Han snorted. “It’s an important political event, do you even know your mother at all?” He clasped Ben’s hand and shook of firmly. “Like taking candy from a baby.” 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ben shot back. 

Their ribbing couldn’t distract Ben from his real goal, and as his father cut through the crowd with curt nods and short snips of dialogue, Ben circled around the long way. Han seized up his wife’s hand and asked her to dance in the small section of flooring set out for it. There was a soft, melodious tune played by the live band - the exact opposite of lively cantina music that inspired dancing, in Ben’s opinion. Han led Leia away, and Ben took his chance and slid over to Amilyn’s side. He gained her attention with a slightly rough clearing of his throat. “Can I talk to you?” he asked, catching her brief moment of surprise. Her expression cooled, neutral now, and she nodded. 

“What do you need to talk about?” she asked, hardly like most adults that Ben knew. They would be looking about for Leia to come and calm her rogue child once again, as he was not fit for political discourse or the elevated lifestyle of these politicians. They saw him as the lowly Jedi son with magic powers, and wanted Leia to keep a tight rein on him. Amilyn looked at him seriously, but not judgmentally, and she tilted her head and moved them away from the crowds. 

“Do you love my mother?” he asked, having never liked the mincing of words. Partaking in small talk with matters of this importance was a sham, and Ben didn’t want a thing to do with it. He was like his mother in that way, with the roguish looks of his father. Especially when his hair was wild and untamed. But tonight, with his hair woven into Alderaanian braids and a crisp blue tunic, he was all his mother. From the fire in his eyes to the set of his mouth, a serious expression occupying every corner of his face. 

Amilyn Holdo laughed, but it wasn’t unkind. “Of course I do,” she said, as if her feelings were very obvious. “I’ve known her for years, and we’ve been growing closer and closer with each passing day. I don’t understand why you need to ask me that kind of question.” 

“I’m not asking if you love her like a friend, and I think you know that.” Ben didn’t let her speak again, cutting in once more, “and I already know the answer, so don’t bother lying to me. This isn’t a trap. I’m not setting you up to get my dad over here, jealous and ready to throw a punch.” 

Amilyn smiled, almost mischievously. “As if Han Solo could take me in a fight anyway,” she said, rather boldly, but Ben recognized bravado when he saw it. After all, he was an expert in hiding insecurities. It was everything he was about. 

“Seriously,” he said, expression melting a bit. He shouldn’t approach this like a business transaction anyway. He wasn’t selling a bunch of grapes here. These were matters of the heart, more important than anything else, and Ben was laying a framework for the future. Something he could trust in if things went bad. “You love her. I see the way you look at her.” 

“Hmm.” A frown graced her face, and Amilyn turned her head away for a moment. Her hands clasped in front of her for a moment, white gloves clinging around her fingers, she rubbed at the silk. Ben wondered if she’d always had that kind of nervous tic. You don’t know anything about my relationship with your mother. It’s complicated.” Amilyn turned to walk away, wanting to cut that conversation in the bud. 

Ben didn’t let her escape. “You don’t have the Force, Ms. Holdo. But I do. And I can see when there’s a thread connecting to people, and yours and my mother’s is thick and strong and golden.” He breathed out a sigh. “Please, hear me out for one moment?” She turned, lifting and eyebrow. “She loves you, too.” He said this with a certainty that Ben shouldn’t have had. But the minds of people around him had never been a secret to Ben. From the time he was a child, he’d been able to pick through the crevices of the mind to see the truth hidden just below the surface. “Whatever you’re afraid of. Why you’re holding back...you don’t have to. She wants you the same way you want her.” 

“You’re smart for you age,” Amilyn said. “But not smart enough, Ben. I’m sorry. Life is not as simple as you want it to be.” 

“There’s no reason that it can’t be,” he replied. 

Amilyn pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, then she turned away from him once more and walked back into the throng of gala attendees.

Across the room, Leia found herself guided in a clumsy dance by her husband who had never bothered to learn the right steps. It was part of his charm, the way his brow furrowed together and he seemed to try to count to the music. He’d brought her over here to say something, obviously, but his mind was wrapped up in the dancing in a way that caused his purpose to idle. Much like the hyperdrive on that old ship they used to fly across the Galaxy in. Just like that, sometimes Han needed a little help to get her going, so Leia clasped his hand tighter and began to lead their dance. 

Han’s eyes snapped up to hers from where he’d been staring at his feet, and his gruff expression of concentration melted into a soft flurry of different emotions. Leia liked, sometimes, to deny the hereditary Force she had, but it was obvious from the tingling in the air between them that he was revving up to say something. She only tipped her head down against his chest and waited for it to come to the surface. Han wasn’t a man of sentimentalities, most of the time, so if this was something important, she’d give him a moment to prepare. 

“Leia, are you happy with me?” he asked, and the question sounded so strained that it honestly made Leia frown in sadness. 

“Of course I am,” she said, voice carrying just above the lilt of the string music. “What kind of question is that, anyway? Where did you get the idea that I was unhappy?” 

“Your face lights up like the skies of Coruscant at night every time you see her,” he said, thoughtfully. “You don’t look at me like that anymore. You smile at me, sure, but you don’t act like the entire Galaxy gasps when I walk through your door.” 

“Han…” Leia could already tell where this was going. 

“That kid of ours. He’s smart, alright. He got that from you, I think. You say that it’s Luke, all the Force stuff, nonsense, connecting with his inner-self, whatever.” Han’s rambling sentence showed just how annoyed he was that this was even being brought up, the Force. Something he didn’t understand, that everyone else in his chosen family had but him. “I say rancor shit to that, honestly,” he continued, and Leia for once remained silent while Han organized his thoughts. “He looks at people and dissects them the same way you do politicians on the Senate floor. But he does it to us, to his family, because he’s got no one else to pick apart. And he’s picked you and Holdo apart like a perfectly built machine, like he has a sense for where each piece came from and where he needs to put it back.” 

“What are you getting at?” she asked. 

“He knows that you’re in love with her. Knows that she’s in love with you.” Han drew her tighter in a hug. “I told you this once before, Princess. If...if you want someone else, I won’t get in the way. I’ll...I’ll step aside, and you can be with her. Ben seems to think that’s what you want. I mean, he said that there’s no reason that I should be jealous, or that we can’t all...but he’s just a kid, what does he know?” 

“Han.” Leia stopped their dance and looked up at her husband. She’d been in love with this silly man since she was twenty years old, and that hadn’t changed. “I don’t want you to step aside. I want you by my side. Where you’ve always been. That’s where you belong. Amilyn and I…” 

“Love each other?” 

She paused, then carefully smoothed her hand over Han’s chest, fixing the fancy buttons on his tunic so they were straight. They were already perfect, but doing this with her hands allowed her to feel...busy. “Yes, I suppose we do,” she answered. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you fiercely, Han. We went through the worst of times together, and you never backed down from my side. I...can’t see my life without you. I don’t even want to try.” 

“But…” Han prompted, his eyes knowing. 

“There is no but. That is just how I feel.” 

“If you could be with her, would you want to be?” he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft. If she didn’t know better, Leia thought he might cry. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek with her gloved hand, soft silk against his rough and weathered skin. She could trace each line in his face by memory, because she’s watched as they formed. There was a set on her own face to match. 

“Not without you.” 

“You…wouldn’t have to.” Han glanced across the room for a moment. Before Leia could turn and see what he was looking at, he seized her in a kiss that was far too intimate to be appropriate for their setting. She allowed it, sensing the end of their conversation. When he pulled away, Leia’s arms fell to her sides, and she watched her husband walk from the dance floor and back toward the hallway he liked to hide in during these galas. 

When Leia turned, it wasn’t quite what she expected to see. Ben stood with his hands clasped at his sides, and he looked over toward the balcony doors that let in brief puffs of chilled air every few minutes. It was a welcome relief, as the movement of dozens of bodies could make a room very warm. Ben’s eyes found her again, and he mouthed something to her. She couldn’t hear him over the sound of the party, over the music, but she didn’t need to. His words came through her mind as simply as a warm knife through butter. 

She’s waiting for you. 

Whether it was true or not, whether Amilyn wanted to have the discussion they’d been putting off for years or not...Leia turned away from the gala and slowly walked to the doors. She glanced out, finding that the balcony was empty save for one lone figure. Tall, lean, thin as a rail, she had her head tilted up to watch the stars overhead. There was a blinking light just above them that would be from the shield generator that protected the world, but it didn’t detract from the expanse of constellations above them. 

Leia walked to her old friend and looked up as well. All the wonder in her eyes showed that her gaze was fixed on the majestic, but it was not the stars she saw. “The men in my life are conspiring against us,” she said, lightly, an even joke to enter them into the subject. 

“Your son has always been meddlesome. Just like his mother.” 

“Me?” Leia let out a tsk, pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth, just behind her teeth. “How dare you? I’ve never meddled in anything that wasn’t my business.” 

“You’ve toppled whole governments before, so I’m afraid I just don’t believe you.” 

Companionable silence lasted only a short time before Leia could not take it anymore. She had to say something, because the grown well of emotion between them couldn’t last forever. “I love you.” 

Amilyn glanced at her, and Leia slowly turned to gaze back. She felt fingers slipping between hers, their hands intertwining. Amilyn lifted their hands and held them together, her eyes shut. The ghost of a smile danced on her face like the weak, flickering candle flame. “I love you, too,” she said. The reply was all Leia needed to hear, but...there was so much more they needed to talk about. It couldn’t be that simple. Leia had a husband. She had a son. But eventually silence reigned in her usually busy mind because lips touched hers. They kissed, on the balcony, underneath the stars. 

* * *

  
  


Leia’s bedroom was a respite from the gala. They had left early, and in the dark of the room, clothing was stripped from flesh. Exposing themselves to the air, their lips seemed to meet and never part. Whenever they needed to breathe, it was between necks or chests, and Amilyn’s hands were working into her undergarments with a practiced ease. Leia had her lips pressed to the junction of her shoulder and neck, kissing with a heavy fervency unmatched before. 

It was obvious by Amilyn’s movements that she was quite as riled as Leia, and soon they twisted on the bed to allow the last articles of clothing to be stripped away. Stopping their impassioned kissing was hard, but finally, they were able to look each other eye to eye again. In the darkness, through shadow, an obvious need built between them. Reaching up, Leia cupped Amilyn’s cheeks and looked at her with awe. “I never thought-” 

“I’d have a chance with you,” Amilyn finished her sentence, as if she’d read Leia’s mind. But she hadn’t, Amilyn couldn’t do such things. The Force was a mystery to her, and yet, somehow, she knew the exact feeling that Leia had struggled with for most of her adult life. Ever since she’d met the eccentric girl whose hair changed color each time they met and whose wit was almost as sharp as her own. 

Heat built between her legs, and Amilyn’s fingers slipped down, pressing through the trimmed mound of pubic hair and into her slit. Leia gasped inward, head tilted back. Slowly her eyes shut as her old friend expertly teased around her clit. Sensitive, her thighs pressed together, toes curling. She moved her hands back and buried fingers in Amilyn’s hair. “Oh, fuck,” she whispered, already wet.

Amilyn’s head ducked down against her chest, a tongue slowly circling her nipple. Lips closed softly around the bud, sparks of feelings crashing through her. Soft pads of fingers circled and dipped, sliding through slicked crevices and teasing the sensitive flesh. Leia dropped one hand down Amilyn’s back and dug her nails in. Her eyelashes fluttered, and a spasm of joy made her hips jerk forward. 

Leia moved her hand down over Amilyn’s back, then to the mound of her breast, kneading the flesh as her legs scissored open to the fingers which teased at her. They were breathing in synch, heavy and loud, the quiet torn asunder. Leia breathed in sharply, breaking their rhythm, when a digit finally snuck inside her. Her body was not inexperienced with such attentions, but it was the first time that she had been penetrated so thoroughly by a single digit. The way Amilyn could zero in exactly where she needed to go. The teasing was done. This was sex. Flashes went off, like the fireworks on Endor, and Leia’s hips lifted off the mattress. “Please,” she released, with a sudden exhale. 

Lips lifted, and Amilyn smirked just close enough to flesh that Leia could feel her lips moving still. “You like that?” she asked, circling her finger in a slow pattern, rubbing deeply at the sensitive place just inside her. Leia nodded her head, and Amilyn pressed ever closer, her lips moving up to press open-mouthed kisses along Leia’s neck. “Has no one fucked you this well before? You’re already dripping around my finger, and I can tell you have so much more in you. Are you not the very same who withstood armies? Can you really be brought to begging from just this?” 

It took but a moment for Leia’s quick tongue to form a retort. “Is it not practical to demand what one wishes?” she asked, opening her eyes. Amilyn lifted up, now hovering above her by just a few inches. Her lips were swollen, and brightly colored locks of hair fell around her face in a shimmering curtain - she was fucking beautiful. The most beautiful thing that Leia had ever seen. 

“Is that what you’re doing? Demanding.” 

Leia, with a finger deep inside her and near shuddering with desperation, could be nothing but proud. Though her voice held within it the slightest of quivers, and she panted around each word, they still rang through the air with truth. “Yes. Now give me what I want.” 

Amilyn smiled. “As you wish.” It was all that Leia needed. She melted back against the mattress as Amilyn snaked down her body. Her thighs were pressed apart by sharp shoulder blades, then the woman settled between them. Warm breath ghosted against her sex, and Leia struggled not to scream with need. 

Amilyn did not spare time now. Their years of working together, dancing around their feelings, culminated in a singular instant, a momentous cataclysm. Under her, Leia could feel teh planet shake, and forces beyond her understanding flowed between her fingers and up her arms, through every nerve and vein in her body. A single word rebounded in her head without end: destiny.

Two fingers now worked inside her as Amilyn’s mouth circled and licked, moving through the slick crevice of her labia. Like the artist’s brushstrokes, her tongue twisted and moved with an expertise and grace. Lewd sounds leaked from her, which only fueled the fire that started in Leia’s gut. She reached down and buried her hands in strands of bright hair, the color falling like an incandescent waterfall over her skin. This dance, it was special, and Leia opened her mouth to scream it out into the cosmos. 

“I’m coming!” 

And she did. Like the crashing waters behind a floodgate, the dam broken, rushing water. They way Amilyn took her to the depths of feeling was like nothing she’d ever had before, and when it was over, Leia drifted in a sea, lost to her own thoughts. And Amilyn came over her again, noses brushing at the tip and the very ends of her hair brushed gently on Leia’s cheek. Soft as raindrops, eyes gazed into hers. Though her vision was foggy, the term angel suddenly took on new meaning. An understanding that she hadn’t had before. “Thank you,” Leia whispered, and Amilyn couldn’t help the breathless laugh that shook her chest. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied, sincerely, then rolled onto her side. Leia followed her, chasing her lips, and they met in a kiss once more. Fingers tangled in Leia’s hair and it began to come undone anyway. She pushed Amilyn back, breathing her in, worshiping her mouth as hands began to roam down her body. 

“Your turn,” she whispered, pulling back with a soft pant. 

And so it went, for the rest of the night. Until they fell into each other again, exhausted and covered in sweat. Amilyn’s arms held Leia around the waist, their legs tangled in filthy sheets, and they both slept like the world had ended. And in a way it had. This was a new world that Leia would wake up to the next day. 

* * *

  
  


“Alright, alright, let’s get your stuff loaded up,” Han said, carrying two bags down the small airstrip where a ship sat waiting for them with its ramp already down. A familiar ship, with ancient engines that idled. An even more familiar sight awaited them at the top of the ramp, a Wookie who waved to them all. Han walked ahead of the rest, always in a damn hurry. 

Amilyn walked with Leia, their hands interconnected, and from behind her, she could feel the young Ben Solo’s eyes on her. She tried to ignore it. “This is where we have to part ways, I suppose,” she said, coming to a stop. Ben walked around them, but she could still feel him watching her over his shoulder. Leia shot him a look, but didn’t say anything. “I’ll come back soon to see you, maybe with my own ship this time so I don’t have to depend on that husband of yours to take me places.” 

“How did you get here in the first place?” Leia was smiling, wide and bright. Her eyes were like dark pools of joy set into her face, the charming laugh lines around them only adding more to her beauty. 

“A one-way, first class ticket on this passenger ship. It was such a last minute decision that it was the only one they had left.” 

Leia glanced away, smiling. “Of course it was,” she said, fondly. “Always a bit impulsive, aren’t we?” Their fingers tangled together briefly. Han had stepped onto the ship with Chewie, and they were barking at each other about something or other. But Ben had stopped, staring. He was so intent, so like his mother. Amilyn regarded him for a moment, then turned back to her new lover. 

“Your son is staring at us,” she said, jerking her shoulder in his direction briefly. 

“Odd, I was thinking the same thing. Ah!” She rolled her eyes, fondly, a motherly look on her face. “Here he comes. Always has something to say, that boy.” Though her words could be construed as negative, there was nothing but a warmness there. Amilyn recognized it, of course. And she turned when Leia did to see the young man approach. 

“Something wrong?” Leia asked him. 

“No. Can I talk to Ms Holdo alone?” 

This surprised both of them, but Leia just glanced up at Amilyn When she received a nod, their hands parted, and she reached out to grasp her son’s face, bringing him down to kiss his forehead. “Alright,” Leia replied. “I’ll go say goodbye to your father. You be respectful, you hear me?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. And Leia walked off, leaving the two of them alone. Amilyn thought it odd. He’d been the one pressuring them the night before, and now he looked so severe. She had no idea what he might say. 

His eyes, so like his mother’s, swam with so many feelings that she couldn’t even begin to trace them. “What is it?” she asked, softly, worrying that he might regret something. Regret seeing them together. However, his answer surprised her more than anything else. 

“Protect her,” he said, voice pleading. “I don’t know-” He gestured at nothing in particular. “I need you to swear to me that you’ll protect her with your life. If you love my mother at all, say you’ll do this.” 

Amilyn gaped, very rarely if ever taken off guard, but this did the trick. She pressed her hand against her arm and schooled her features again. “Yes, of course. I love her, and I would...I would do anything for her. Why are you bringing this up?” 

Ben glanced away. “Something big is coming, and it’s going to change everything. I don’t know what.” 

“The Force?” she asked, realizing that Ben was sensing something that she - perhaps everyone else in the Galaxy, as well - couldn’t. 

He gave a brief nod, then looked back to her. “Just take care of her, okay?” He turned and fled before Amilyn could ask anymore, but even she could recognize that this was probably the product of a child growing up, realizing that, maybe the Galaxy wasn’t as safe as he’d once thought it to be. There were forces out there, she knew, everyone knew. If she had been alone for much longer, this seed of dread might have sparked her to think, but Leia exited the Falcon again just as Ben ran on, and they exchanged quiet words. Amilyn’s attention was taken by the woman again as she walked back down the airstrip to join her. 

They stood hand in hand, for a moment, and Amilyn tipped her face down for a last kiss. It was brief, and she pulled away for a moment to cup her hand against Leia’s cheek. “This...is only the beginning, right?” 

“Of course,” Leia replied, and she shot a sharp smile upwards. “Force-willing.” 

“Even if it’s not,” Amilyn replied, her head tilting to the side. 

“I’ll make sure it is.” Leia kissed her again. Their lips melded like perfection, a great synergy in the cosmos, in the air they breathed between them, like aligning planets and stars, a rearrangement of the Galaxy. If anyone could do it, it was Leia Organa. And Amilyn would, as Ben put it, take care of her. Protect her. Love her. And Leia would do the same for her. Amilyn didn’t have the Force, but for a moment, she swore she could see a bright future ahead. 

Their kissing eventually melted away, and Amilyn walked down the airstrip and up the ramp of the Falcon. Turning, she lifted a hand and waved. Leia returned the gesture. The end of the beginning. The beginning of the end. 

**Author's Note:**

> To my giftee: This was so much fun to write, and I really enjoyed getting to do something with this pairing, because it really is just such a good ship. I hope you enjoy this! Healthy polyamory is such a great thing, and I hope I did the concept justice!


End file.
